Cleveland Guardians vs Milwaukee Brewers Prediction, Preview and Odds - 06/18/2026

Game Time: 2:10 pm ET, Thursday, June 18, 2026

Venue:  American Family Field, Milwaukee, WI

Where to Watch:  MLB TV

DraftKings:  Moneyline odds:  Guardians +113, Brewers -136; Over/Under:  7.5 runs

Bet365:  Moneyline odds:  Guardians +120, Brewers -140; Over/Under:  7.5 runs

BetMGM:  Moneyline odds:  Guardians +115, Brewers -140; Over/Under:  7.5 runs

Cleveland Guardians:  39-34 (2nd place, AL Central)

Milwaukee Brewers:  44-26 (1st place, NL Central)

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Cleveland Guardians:  3-7 last 10

Milwaukee Brewers:  7-3 last 10

The Guardians are entering this series off a win and completed the sweep in their 2-game series against the Detroit Tigers 2-0 in their last series. They enter this game with a 39-34 record overall and have a road record of 20-17. This is the series finale of a 3-game series with the Brewers on Thursday with the 2nd game still to be played on Wednesday. The Guardians lost the series opener on Tuesday. Their offense ranks 28th in the MLB with a .685 OPS. Gavin Williams is their starting pitcher on Wednesday while Parker Messick is making his start in this game on Thursday. He is 6-3 with a 2.68 ERA this season. His team lost their last 3 straight games this season with him making an appearance. In his last MLB regular season appearance, he allowed 4 ER, 0 HR, and 3 BB with 4 SO on 5 hits through 5.2 IP against the New York Yankees.

The Brewers are entering this series off a win and won their 3-game series against the Philadelphia Phillies 2-1 in their last series. They enter this game with a 44-26 record overall and have a home record of 24-14. This is the 3rd game of a 3-game series with the Guardians on Thursday with the 2nd game of this series still to be played on Wednesday. The Brewers won the 1st game of this series on Tuesday. Their offense ranks 7th in the MLB with a .733 OPS. Brandon Sproat is their starting pitcher on Wednesday while rookie pitcher Shane Drohan is making his start in this game on Thursday. He is 3-2 with a 3.59 ERA this season. His team won 3 of their last 4 games this season with him making an appearance. In his last MLB regular season start, he allowed 4 earned runs, 1 homer, and 0 walks with 7 strikeouts on 8 hits through 5 innings pitched against the Philadelphia Phillies.

The current betting odds have the Guardians listed as a slight underdog in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. The Guardians have looked good in their games this season with their 39-34 record overall which has them right near the top of the AL Central. They have been a good road team too with their 20-17 road record this year. Meanwhile, the Brewers have looked great in their games this season with their 44-26 record overall which has them right at the top of the NL Central with one of the best records in MLB. They have looked great in their own ballpark too with their 24-14 home record this season. The Brewers are 7-3 in their last 10 games and they have been rolling lately while the Guardians are 3-7 in their last 10 games and have been in a slump, but the Brewers only won the 1st game of this series in a 2-1 game and the Guardians do have a really good pitching staff this season. They don't have a great offense, but they are going to have the better pitching matchup here and can definitely take advantage of that. The Guardians are going with Messick in this one and he has looked great this season. He is 6-3 with a 2.68 ERA and he has pretty much been their ace this year. He has had some trouble lately with his team losing 3 games in a row now with him starting and he did give up 4 earned runs in his last start too, but that hasn't been a common theme for him and he will be looking to bounce back with a better performance. The Brewers are going with Drohan in this one and he hasn't looked bad this season, but he hasn't looked great either and is only in his rookie season. He is 3-2 with a 3.59 ERA and lately he has been giving up more runs. His team has won 3 of their last 4 games with him starting, but he did give up 4 earned runs in his last start and he still doesn't have a ton of experience in MLB. The Guardians are going to have a big pitching advantage in this game and they can do enough to shut down this Brewers offense and get the win. The best way to place a bet here is on the Guardians to win this game. 

Guardians Brewers Prediction:  Our MLB Pick for Thursday, June 18, 2026 (2:10 pm ET start time) is Guardians 4 Brewers 2.

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Cleveland Guardians: 20-25 (-7 units) on the moneyline against NL Central opponents. 55-61 (-5.9 units) on the moneyline in an inter-league game. 46-64 (-9.3 units) on the moneyline vs. teams outscoring opp by 0.5 or more runs/game on the season. 80-47 UNDER as a road underdog of +100 or higher.

Milwaukee Brewers: 31-15 (+16.8 units) on the moneyline against AL Central opponents. 238-169 (+48.4 units) on the moneyline in all games. 126-81 (+19.7 units) on the moneyline in home games. 24-17 UNDER vs. good fielding teams - averaging 0.6 errors/game or less.

Cleveland Guardians:  J. Ramirez (3B) Ten Day IL - Hand. A. Martinez (LF) Ten Day IL - Foot. C. DeLauter (RF) Day To Day - Rib Cage. E. Sabrowski (RP) Fifteen Day IL - Elbow.

Milwaukee Brewers:  C. Crow (SP) Fifteen Day IL - Forearm. B. Fitzpatrick (RP) Sixty Day IL - Elbow. C. Rodriguez (RP) Fifteen Day IL - Undisclosed. Q. Priester (SP) Sixty Day IL - Wrist. D. Hall (RP) Fifteen Day IL - Pectoral. R. Zastryzny (RP) Fifteen Day IL - Shoulder. A. Zerpa (RP) Sixty Day IL - Forearm. L. Henderson (SP) Fifteen Day IL - Back. B. Lockridge (LF) Ten Day IL - Knee. B. Woodruff (SP) Fifteen Day IL - Arm. J. Koenig (RP) Fifteen Day IL - Elbow.

“Slade was outstanding. I don't know the exact number, but probably close to 75-80% first pitch strikes, getting ahead, working ahead. Weak contact you know, obviously, outside the one homer. I felt like he, you know, they didn't really do much against him. He got a lot of quick outs, did a great job, great pitch count, got deep in the game.” - Stephen Vogt after his team’s loss against the Brewers in their game on Tuesday. 

"Really confident he can play defense. It might take him a week or two to get adjusted, but I think we're very confident in what he can do. It's baseball IQ, just 'Give a crap,' and his competitiveness. I'm confident he can play. It might take a while, but we've got Joey right there, we've got Hamilton right there.” - Pat Murphy on Cooper Pratt after his team’s win against the Guardians in their game on Tuesday.

Travis Bazzana (L) 2B

Brayan Rocchio (S) SS

Rhys Hoskins (R) DH

David Fry (R) RF

Kyle Manzardo (L) 1B

Stuart Fairchild (R) CF

Steven Kwan (L) LF

Gabriel Arias (R) 3B

Austin Hedges (R) C

Christian Yelich (L) DH

Jackson Chourio (R) LF

Brice Turang (L) 2B

William Contreras (R) C

Jake Bauers (L) RF

Andrew Vaughn (R) 1B

Garrett Mitchell (L) CF

Cooper Pratt (R) SS

David Hamilton (L) 3B

Batting Average:  Austin Hedges (.271)

Hits:  José Ramírez (64)

Home Runs:  Angel Martínez (11)

RBI:  Chase DeLauter (34)

Stolen Bases:  José Ramírez (24)

Wins:  Gavin Williams (9)

Saves:  Cade Smith (23)

ERA:  Logan Allen (0.00)

Batting Average:  Andrew Vaughn (.347)

Hits:  William Contreras (76)

Home Runs:  Jake Bauers (13)

RBI:  Jake Bauers (46)

Stolen Bases:  David Hamilton (14)

Wins:  Aaron Ashby (10)

Saves:  Trevor Megill (9)

ERA:  Jared Koenig (0.00)

Managers:

Cleveland Guardians: Stephen Vogt (3rd season)

Milwaukee Brewers: Pat Murphy (3rd season)